Okay, so I was initially going to make actual fried chicken, then pretty much felt lazy after a long day and didn't read all the directions on the recipe, so my chicken did not soak in buttermilk for 2 hours. Plan B: baked chicken. Let me just say James was totally raving about this! It even had a nice, crispy skin!
Ingredients:
Chicken (I used leg quarters)
2 eggs, beaten
Flour
Breadcrumbs
Paprika
Ground white pepper
Garlic salt
Sage
Preheat the oven to 400. Dredge your chicken in flour, then dip in the 2 beaten eggs. In a separate bowl, mix your breadcrumbs with spices. When mixing with breadcrumbs, I spice by smell since breadcrumbs can drown out spices. Dredge your chicken in the seasoned breadcrumbs after the egg dip. Put in a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes for bone-in pieces, 35 for boneless.
I honestly think this recipe was better than fried. Next time, to give the chicken more flavor, I think I am going to try seasoning the flour a little bit. The skin crisps up very nicely as well!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Chimichanga
Let me preface this by saying I didn't feel like making a sauce, and by the time this hit the table, James didn't think it even needed a sauce! This is not kid tested since Mady got to have a sleepover with her Uncle Nut.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 small yellow onion
half a bell pepper (I used a green one)
Julio's seasoning
Cumin
Ground Cayenne pepper
Garlic salt (or plain white salt)
Large fajita-sized tortillas
Melted butter
Start your beef browning over medium heat in a large skillet. Stir occasionally. While your beef is browning, chop your onions and bell pepper. Put those into a small skillet and saute over medium heat. Preheat your over to 350. Shred cheese (I prefer using block cheese, so I shredded Colby Jack). Before taking the beef off the heat, add your seasonings and mix well. Move to a cool burner. Finish sauteing your onions and bell pepper. Spoon the meat onto a large tortilla and top with the onion mixture and shredded cheese. Fold the tortillas like an envelope around the meat and place on a cookie sheet, seam-side down. Brush the top of the tortillas with melted butter. I sprinkled the tops with some additional Julio's. Bake for 8 minutes, until the burritos are starting to turn a pretty golden color.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 small yellow onion
half a bell pepper (I used a green one)
Julio's seasoning
Cumin
Ground Cayenne pepper
Garlic salt (or plain white salt)
Large fajita-sized tortillas
Melted butter
Start your beef browning over medium heat in a large skillet. Stir occasionally. While your beef is browning, chop your onions and bell pepper. Put those into a small skillet and saute over medium heat. Preheat your over to 350. Shred cheese (I prefer using block cheese, so I shredded Colby Jack). Before taking the beef off the heat, add your seasonings and mix well. Move to a cool burner. Finish sauteing your onions and bell pepper. Spoon the meat onto a large tortilla and top with the onion mixture and shredded cheese. Fold the tortillas like an envelope around the meat and place on a cookie sheet, seam-side down. Brush the top of the tortillas with melted butter. I sprinkled the tops with some additional Julio's. Bake for 8 minutes, until the burritos are starting to turn a pretty golden color.
Potato Roast (Side Dish)
This is by far one of my favorite side dishes to make. All of my family loves it. I got the idea from the Perini's cookbook, but tweaked it to make it my own. I do something different every time I make it.
Ingredients:
4-5 medium russet potatoes
handful of mushrooms (this is really to your preference)
1 small yellow onion
Butter
Seasonings of your choice
I chop/dice everything, then mix it into the casserole dish.
Dice your onion. If you like a lot of onion, feel free to add an additional onion. Put it into an ungreased 9x13 casserole dish. Next, slice up your mushrooms. I didn't count today, but I probably use about 6 mushrooms in most casseroles. Chop your potatoes. I cut mine in half, then each half into quarters before chopping them. Put them into your casserole dish. Add several dollops of butter (or Greek yogurt if you don't want all the fat). Add your seasonings. I used crushed red pepper, paprika, garlic salt, and ground white pepper on mine. Mix everything together so that the seasonings and butter coat everything. Put in the oven for 60 minutes at 400 degrees. Your potatoes should be fork tender when they finish coating.
The best thing about this dish is the ability to change up what you cook with the potatoes. I've done plain potatoes, cooked asparagus with them, even done green beans and carrots. Always comes out as a super tasty side dish!
Ingredients:
4-5 medium russet potatoes
handful of mushrooms (this is really to your preference)
1 small yellow onion
Butter
Seasonings of your choice
I chop/dice everything, then mix it into the casserole dish.
Dice your onion. If you like a lot of onion, feel free to add an additional onion. Put it into an ungreased 9x13 casserole dish. Next, slice up your mushrooms. I didn't count today, but I probably use about 6 mushrooms in most casseroles. Chop your potatoes. I cut mine in half, then each half into quarters before chopping them. Put them into your casserole dish. Add several dollops of butter (or Greek yogurt if you don't want all the fat). Add your seasonings. I used crushed red pepper, paprika, garlic salt, and ground white pepper on mine. Mix everything together so that the seasonings and butter coat everything. Put in the oven for 60 minutes at 400 degrees. Your potatoes should be fork tender when they finish coating.
The best thing about this dish is the ability to change up what you cook with the potatoes. I've done plain potatoes, cooked asparagus with them, even done green beans and carrots. Always comes out as a super tasty side dish!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Pizza Balls
This was a huge hit with my family, especially the kids!
Ingredients:
Cheese
Pepperoni
2 Cans of biscuits
Parsley
Oregano
Melted butter
Pizza sauce
Cut the cheese into small blocks. We used cheddar and mozzarella. Flatten out the biscuits. Put a piece of pepperoni sandwiched between 2 pieces of cheese and roll the biscuit dough into balls. Brush the tops with melted butter after putting them in a casserole dish. I believe I used a 9x13. Sprinkle the tops with parsley and oregano. I added garlic salt as well. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the pizza balls are golden. Heat up the pizza sauce to use as a dipping sauce.
Ingredients:
Cheese
Pepperoni
2 Cans of biscuits
Parsley
Oregano
Melted butter
Pizza sauce
Cut the cheese into small blocks. We used cheddar and mozzarella. Flatten out the biscuits. Put a piece of pepperoni sandwiched between 2 pieces of cheese and roll the biscuit dough into balls. Brush the tops with melted butter after putting them in a casserole dish. I believe I used a 9x13. Sprinkle the tops with parsley and oregano. I added garlic salt as well. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the pizza balls are golden. Heat up the pizza sauce to use as a dipping sauce.
Brown Sugar Peach Boneless Ribs
James thought this sounded weird at first, but the ribs were beyond juicy and tender! He even asked me to cook it again. Haha!
Rib Sauce:
2 medium-large peaches
Brown sugar (I don't measure, just a little more than enough to coat the peaches)
Chop your peaches, skin on, into small pieces. Put the peaches into a bowl. Coat the peaches in brown sugar. Set the bowl in your fridge overnight to allow ample time for the sugar to pull out juices.
Put your boneless ribs in a square casserole dish. Mine was a 9x9. Pour the sugar and peach mixture over the ribs. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes. I added canned green beans as our side dish. The peaches become very tender and give a lot of flavor to the ribs.
Rib Sauce:
2 medium-large peaches
Brown sugar (I don't measure, just a little more than enough to coat the peaches)
Chop your peaches, skin on, into small pieces. Put the peaches into a bowl. Coat the peaches in brown sugar. Set the bowl in your fridge overnight to allow ample time for the sugar to pull out juices.
Put your boneless ribs in a square casserole dish. Mine was a 9x9. Pour the sugar and peach mixture over the ribs. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes. I added canned green beans as our side dish. The peaches become very tender and give a lot of flavor to the ribs.
Fried Tilapia
I decided to try on a whim frying up tilapia. I wanted to try something other than baking with citrus. Oh man, this was super tasty! I put roasted potatoes with it.
Fish Fry Ingredients:
Tilapia (however many pieces you want)
Fish Fry (we used Zatarain's Seasoned fry)
Oil
Thaw out your fish if it's frozen. Completely dry all excess water off the fish. Heat your oil in a medium skillet. Coat both sides of your fish in the fish fry breading. Put the filet in the oil, frying one side at a time. I used a little over an inch of oil to fry. Drain the excess oil (put the filet on a paper towel).
Roasted Potatoes:
3 medium potatoes
Creole seasoning
Garlic Salt
Butter
Chop your potatoes into bite-size pieces. Add a few good sized dollops of butter. Sprinkle on the garlic salt and Creole seasoning. Bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.
I do suggest adding your own seasonings to the the fish fry. It was a bit bland for my family's tastes, but gave a nice crust to the tilapia.
Fish Fry Ingredients:
Tilapia (however many pieces you want)
Fish Fry (we used Zatarain's Seasoned fry)
Oil
Thaw out your fish if it's frozen. Completely dry all excess water off the fish. Heat your oil in a medium skillet. Coat both sides of your fish in the fish fry breading. Put the filet in the oil, frying one side at a time. I used a little over an inch of oil to fry. Drain the excess oil (put the filet on a paper towel).
Roasted Potatoes:
3 medium potatoes
Creole seasoning
Garlic Salt
Butter
Chop your potatoes into bite-size pieces. Add a few good sized dollops of butter. Sprinkle on the garlic salt and Creole seasoning. Bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.
I do suggest adding your own seasonings to the the fish fry. It was a bit bland for my family's tastes, but gave a nice crust to the tilapia.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Spinach Stuffed Shells
I had just about forgotten about this recipe until I was talking to my sweet friend Jessie. :) This was my first time making a vegetarian meal, and of course that was due to it being Lent! Adair wasn't a fan, but Mady ate 2 shells by herself. :)
Ingredients:
Spinach (you can use frozen)
Tomato sauce
Large shells
Ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Boil the shells until just before they are al dente. After they finish, mix the cheeses with fully thawed out spinach (chop fresh spinach if you're going that route). In a casserole dish (mine was a 9x9), cover the bottom with some of the tomato sauce. Spoon the spinach mixture into each shell and set in the dish, the open side of the pasta facing the side (think of how a football is facing prior to kick off. The open side of the pasta is the lacing of the ball). Once the dish is full, top with more tomato sauce. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. I also added a sprinkling of Parmesan and some Parsley prior to baking my shells. It makes a delicious vegetarian dish!
Also, if there are any shells that you didn't stuff, you can freeze them for later use. :)
Ingredients:
Spinach (you can use frozen)
Tomato sauce
Large shells
Ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Boil the shells until just before they are al dente. After they finish, mix the cheeses with fully thawed out spinach (chop fresh spinach if you're going that route). In a casserole dish (mine was a 9x9), cover the bottom with some of the tomato sauce. Spoon the spinach mixture into each shell and set in the dish, the open side of the pasta facing the side (think of how a football is facing prior to kick off. The open side of the pasta is the lacing of the ball). Once the dish is full, top with more tomato sauce. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. I also added a sprinkling of Parmesan and some Parsley prior to baking my shells. It makes a delicious vegetarian dish!
Also, if there are any shells that you didn't stuff, you can freeze them for later use. :)
Sausage and Pasta
Okay, I know the title sounds boring. I'm just not in an imaginative naming mood. lol. This, however, is probably one of Mady's new favorite recipes that I have tried out.
Ingredients:
Pasta (I used medium shells, penne or rigatoni would work well also)
4-5 sausage links (like what you would typical grill)
Sour cream
Ground cayenne
Garlic salt
Sage
Cut up your sausage into small bite-size pieces. Put into a medium skillet. Add your sour cream immediately. Cook over medium-high heat (but not too high in order to avoid the fats from the sausage getting too hot. Fat splatters hurt). Let the sour cream cook down. Yes, it looks kind of weird, but ignore that part. Add your spices once your sour cream has cooked down.
In a separate pot, cook your pasta like normal. After you drain your pasta, add your sausage mixture and mix well.
The sour cream cuts down on the sharp bite of the sausage. You don't get a heavy sour cream taste, it's just slightly sweeter without being really sweet. If that makes any sense at all. Mady normally doesn't eat sausage links, but she was chowing down on this one!
Ingredients:
Pasta (I used medium shells, penne or rigatoni would work well also)
4-5 sausage links (like what you would typical grill)
Sour cream
Ground cayenne
Garlic salt
Sage
Cut up your sausage into small bite-size pieces. Put into a medium skillet. Add your sour cream immediately. Cook over medium-high heat (but not too high in order to avoid the fats from the sausage getting too hot. Fat splatters hurt). Let the sour cream cook down. Yes, it looks kind of weird, but ignore that part. Add your spices once your sour cream has cooked down.
In a separate pot, cook your pasta like normal. After you drain your pasta, add your sausage mixture and mix well.
The sour cream cuts down on the sharp bite of the sausage. You don't get a heavy sour cream taste, it's just slightly sweeter without being really sweet. If that makes any sense at all. Mady normally doesn't eat sausage links, but she was chowing down on this one!
Baked Boneless Pork Ribs and Skillet Potatoes
Ingredients:
Boneless Pork Ribs
Paprika
White Pepper
Ground Cayenne
Garlic Salt
BBQ Sauce
Brown Sugar
Put your ribs in a large bowl. Add your seasoning to your tastes (I don't measure my seasonings. I usually do 2-4 good dashes per spice, depending on what the spice is). Top with brown sugar and BBQ sauce and let marinate for 1-2 hours in the fridge. Preheat your oven to 400. Put your mixture, sauce and all, into a small casserole dish. Mine was an 8x8. Bake for 30 minutes.
Skillet Potatoes:
3-4 small-medium Russet potatoes
Paprika
White pepper
Garlic salt
Butter
Cube your potatoes and put in a large skillet. Add your butter and spices. Stir continuously, otherwise your potatoes will stick to the skillet. Take them off the heat once your potatoes have browned.
Boneless Pork Ribs
Paprika
White Pepper
Ground Cayenne
Garlic Salt
BBQ Sauce
Brown Sugar
Put your ribs in a large bowl. Add your seasoning to your tastes (I don't measure my seasonings. I usually do 2-4 good dashes per spice, depending on what the spice is). Top with brown sugar and BBQ sauce and let marinate for 1-2 hours in the fridge. Preheat your oven to 400. Put your mixture, sauce and all, into a small casserole dish. Mine was an 8x8. Bake for 30 minutes.
Skillet Potatoes:
3-4 small-medium Russet potatoes
Paprika
White pepper
Garlic salt
Butter
Cube your potatoes and put in a large skillet. Add your butter and spices. Stir continuously, otherwise your potatoes will stick to the skillet. Take them off the heat once your potatoes have browned.
Swiss Bacon Chicken
Okay, I HAD to come up with a new way to bake chicken. So I decided to rummage through my fridge for inspiration. Here's what I came up with!
Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Slices (I used 3) of Swiss Cheese
Bacon
BBQ Sauce
Place 1 1/2 slices of Swiss cheese on the chicken breast. Wrap each breast in bacon, with the ends of the bacon under the chicken the best you can. Bake in an oven set at 400 for 30-35 minutes (it depends on your oven. Mine is temperamental and doesn't like to work correctly).
I served my chicken with green beans. It was a hit with Mady for sure!
Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Slices (I used 3) of Swiss Cheese
Bacon
BBQ Sauce
Place 1 1/2 slices of Swiss cheese on the chicken breast. Wrap each breast in bacon, with the ends of the bacon under the chicken the best you can. Bake in an oven set at 400 for 30-35 minutes (it depends on your oven. Mine is temperamental and doesn't like to work correctly).
I served my chicken with green beans. It was a hit with Mady for sure!
Asian Beef Roast
So I get tired of the same ole, same ole pot roast. Carrots, beef, and potatoes only get me excited so much. James thought I was crazy for this, but I decided to do an Asian style roast. It turned out way better than we expected, although it could have used slightly heavier seasonings.
Ingredients:
Rump Roast
Beef Stock
Teriyaki Sauce
Coriander
Cumin
Ginger
Egg noodles
Peas
Put the rump roast into your crock pot. Make the beef stock according to directions. I added an extra cup of water since I didn't want a heavy beef stock taste. Add a generous amount of Teriyaki sauce. Crush the coriander (I used a mortar and pestle). Add all spices into the crock pot. Set the crock pot on Low and leave it for 6 hours.
Before you serve dinner, cook the egg noodles and peas. Serve the beef and juices over the noodles and peas.
Ingredients:
Rump Roast
Beef Stock
Teriyaki Sauce
Coriander
Cumin
Ginger
Egg noodles
Peas
Put the rump roast into your crock pot. Make the beef stock according to directions. I added an extra cup of water since I didn't want a heavy beef stock taste. Add a generous amount of Teriyaki sauce. Crush the coriander (I used a mortar and pestle). Add all spices into the crock pot. Set the crock pot on Low and leave it for 6 hours.
Before you serve dinner, cook the egg noodles and peas. Serve the beef and juices over the noodles and peas.
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